Soccer Tournaments

Semi Final - Euro 2008 Round up

So after a couple of interesting semi finals, the final of this fine soccer tournaments looks like a pretty obvious one before the tournament but not necessarily one that you would of picked 10 days ago.

First of all well done to Turkey, giving the Germans a real going over and were unfortunate to lose. Kazim Kazim has looked a future star, good dribbler, pace and alot of confidence. Did he really play in the Premiership for Sheffield Utd a couple of years ago? Other stand outs were Altintop, Semih and Aurelio who will probably all be linked with moves to West Ham, Newcastle and Spurs as I type.

So the Germans squeezed through after a last gasp Lahm goal. This despite looking shaky throughout the match, really struggling to hold on to the ball and keep possession. Frings did make a difference when he came on but you could see that he wasn’t fully fit, mainly walking around the pitch and offering himself as an easy passing option. (even with this Mertesacker seemed to struggle to find a player in white) Joachim Low will be a relieved man as he didn’t really seem to know what to do tactically with the Turks creating most of the play and the Germans relying on Podolski and Schweinsteiger to do make things happen. Ballack was quiet but I expect him to be ready and at his best for the final.

Spain vs Russia was a strange match and the Russians can count themselves unlucky to lose 3-0 as the match was tighter than the scoreline suggests. The first half was very tight, surprisingly Russia having more of the possession. Not many chances were created although Akinfeev had to make a couple of smart stops. The Villa injury was as far as I’m concerned and not necessarily because Fabregas came on but because of the change in formation making it harder for the Russians to pass through. Although playing behind Torres, Fabregas often dropped back into the midfield making it a 4-5-1. The Russians couldn’t play their intricate passing game and eventually tired. As soon as Xavi scored the Spanish confidence soared, there was only going to be one winner. (On a side note, I could watch that Fabregas pass for the second goal all day. The control of it was amazing considering the pressure of it and the high percentage of failure.)

So tomorrow we have Spain vs Germany and are we really going to see the Spanish finally win something after so many years of if, buts and maybes. I think so. The Germans will be a completely different side to the one that played in the semi, not as in personel but mentality yet I expect the Spanish will be just too good especially if they keep Fabregas in to play behind Torres. The game will be won and lost in the midfield and whoever comes out on top out of Ballack, Frings, Schweinsteiger - Xavi, Iniesta and Senna will go a long way seeing who the next european champions are.

Spain to win 2-1, Guiza with an extra time winner.